Budget areas to rent in London if working in City of London

[Secretriver]

I realise that nowhere in London is budget friendly!

However dd is starting a low paid training role based in the City of London/Lime St area & we’re concerned about affordability.

Most likely looking at a room in shared house. Any thoughts on good areas to target that are reasonable and still pleasant/safe and commutable? She loves the more modern feel of big cities but the budget & commutability
are the most important. We don’t live in London & are pretty clueless on areas.

Thank you!

Better to give a rough amount you are willing to spend

But nowhere is cheap in London

Pleasant / Safe / Commutable = Heavy rents

Spareroom has a search wizard which helps you find the best place to live in London.

You can have two of the three: safe, commutable, less than £2k a month for a shoebox. You can’t have all three.

Just be aware that at the moment, often the listed rents is seen as the starting offer and good properties/good spare rooms get several offers in excess of the listed price. It makes searching even harder.

Thanks @PoopingAllTheWay I wondered about including a rough rent but just feel we really have no idea at the moment as still scrambling to figure out what’s doable & what’s realistic. She will earn £24k, we wondered about £800 a month on rent from the little research (& wishful thinking) we’ve done but not sure which areas to focus more research on. It’s quite scary currently. We’re happy to help her but will need to budget to do so

It might be worth looking into property guardianship. Apparently it’s a much more affordable way of renting.

Remember to add the costs of travel card etc to the rent, when comparing different areas- travelling from zone 4-6 costs a lot at peak times, living in zone 2-3 might mean a bus and no need for a travel card.

My understanding is rents are nearer £1000 per month in central London. Does she know anyone else who might be going to London so they can look together. I think she might be able to wait until June or July

To find anywhere she'll probably have to go quite far out and travel in. This will cost her more in travel but rent will be cheaper.

I have friends on similar salaries who rent near Tottenham Hale, Dulwich, Shepherds bush. When looking they were pretty open about areas and looked at a lot of places until they found the right thing.

DS is in Bethnal Green.

It's not safe but it's not dangerous either.

He pays 1000 per month bills included shared house.

If you are from anywhere outside London then unless you can pay oil money prices now where really counts as safe.

Thanks all, really helpful so far (tho obviously worrying!). We’ll obviously need to think more seriously at subsidising as if still a student & keep our fingers crossed she’ll progress quickly!

Budget slightly aside, and I know I need to work out what the “zones” are, but where would be obvious commute areas for the City if anyone can advise? I saw Canary Wharf is near and looks like it’s modern in feel with an increase in living amenities recently….

Thank you for the spare room quiz idea @Maitri108 Ive had a few goes & it seems like a good way to quickly learn my boroughs!

Guardianship looks interesting @GretchenWienersHair (& I agree, fantastic hair) but I think she’d need her first 12 months pay/references from a brief read.

Any other thoughts very very welcome, we’re learning fast 😂

There is a Facebook group called Gals in London or similar for young women looking to rent. I’ve seen plenty of nice rooms with nice flatmates in Tooting / Balham etc for £1000

The zones go out in rings, from zone 1 in the centre. In most areas Zone 4 is as far out as you can realistically go & still be on the tube network.

TfL are freezing bus & tram fares but tube fares have gone up, so your DD would save money if she could commute by bus but it would cost more on the rent.

Trains and tube get very busy at peak times.

For obvious reasons there are massive flows of people into and out of the city of London at peak times.

Lots of people these days use bikes, either folding bikes so they can train/tube part of the journey and bike the rest or just bike it.

I haven't been to Canary Wharf in a while but it is its own employment area and again large numbers of people coming in and out on a daily basis.

I wouldn't live in Canary Wharf to commute to the city.

Check the tube lines. Where in the city is she working? Which is the nearest tube? Bank?

Ealing Broadway looks far out on the tube map, but it’s on the new Elizabeth Line which is VERY fast into Liverpool Street.

It’s a safe, green area with some nice shops and restaurants and a young vibe in the evening.

Postcode W5

If she is willing to walk 30 mins, Bethnal Green / Dalston is at the more affordable end, and will save her commuting costs.

Or a bit further out (Bromley by Bow, Devons Road) are not yet gentrified.

Look at Limehouse. It's a very short commute to the city - she could cycle in which would save ££ on commuting costs. It does have a DLR station as well which takes you to Bank station easily. If you choose a property away from the river it should be more affordable. I would avoid Shadwell.

I just looked on SpareRoom. She could get a room for around £800 in East Dulwich from the look of it. Very nice place to be, and to keep costs down she could get the 63 bus to the City (well, Ludgate Circus and a walk) from there.

Areas like New Cross Gate / Peckham etc are much safer than people like to pretend they are. It's a 10 min journey to London Bridge and then a quick walk into the city or the overground to Whitechapel and tube into monument / bank etc.

I think she'd need a budget of £1k per month though.

I’d also say that cost of living in some areas higher due to no decent supermarket options. Friend of mine’s son has a relatively cheap flat rental but there’s nowhere nearby to do a reasonable food shop.

I have a relative who worked in the City and lived in Streatham Hill - bus or walk to Streatham then train to Blackfriars.

Streatham itself would be even easier in terms of the commute. I can see a room on SpareRoom for £800 per month including bills

She could look at Woodford or the eastern suburbs. Would need to use the tube outer zones but it's closer to the city in time than coming in from the west. I'd avoid Ilford, bits of Hainault and Barkingside as they are not great but central line from Bethnal Green outwards might have something.

Which tube station will she be getting into to get to her office?

You could look at Walthamstow - the overground goes directly into Liverpool at station (City). Plus there's the Victoria line into the centre of town. If she cycles, it's about a 45-minute ride into Liverpool st area. Cycling in London is much more pleasant than it used to be, thanks to Sadiq Khan's changes.

That said, I doubt she'd find much there for £800/mo.